Star Wars Gets the Social Distancing Treatment in Artwork From ILM

The Star Wars franchise has offered a number of heroic moments to audiences, inspiring fans to embrace their inner hero, with a new illustration released by ILM depicting some of the series’ most famous characters taking a cue from real-life protocols and maintaining social distancing at the supermarket. To prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, it is recommended that everyone keep six feet away from anyone else, with many supermarkets even implementing markers in checkout aisles to indicate how far everyone needs to stay away from other customers in the interests of public safety, as seen in the below illustration.

“Remember to stay far, far away from others and thank the true Heroes of the Pandemic,” ILM shared on Twitter. The account also noted that it was the first illustration in a series, with this piece having been created by Casey Straka.

Given the devastating impact the virus is having around the world, people are trying to find levity in the situation in any way they can. Star Wars icon Mark Hamill has shared a number memes about the situation, hoping not only to bring some joy to his fans but also to remind them to take all necessary precautions.

“Stay indoors, avoid crowds & share your sanitizer, don’t be a hoarder. #CoronavirusAdvice,” Hamill wrote in one tweet while including an image of Luke Skywalker in a Bacta tank from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

Another post, which Hamill went on to share, came from artist Brandon Bird, claiming that Luke Skywalker was the “King of social distancing,” as it included a photo of Luke from his isolation on Ahch-To in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

One of the repercussions of social distancing is that film and TV productions around the world have been put on hold indefinitely, which includes the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story prequel TV series, which was gearing up to shoot in London. It’s unclear how far into production the series was, if at all, as some reports claim that the shoot was officially underway, with star Diego Luna confirming that he was in London at the time the pandemic began to spread, though he didn’t confirm that the series had actually started shooting.

What do you think of the illustration? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!